Everyone's Ohana
by Skymouth
Summary: Lilo and Gantu must work together to escape capture, if only they can cooperate long enough without getting on each others nerves.
1. Default Chapter

Everyone's Ohana

Part I

A Lilo & Stitch Fanfic

By Brenna "Snakelady" Dawkins

Rating: PG13 

Disclaimer: Lilo and Stitch and all subsequent characters are owned and copyrighted by Disney Studios. I have made no money off of this or any of my other fanfics… pity!

Summary: Lilo and Gantu must work together to escape capture, if only they can cooperate long enough without getting on each others nerves.

-----

Gantu had his gun out and surveyed the situation carefully. He was in a sour mood. His wrist was still hurting after getting severely wrenched during a failed attempt at retrieving experiment number 3. Or, more accurately, it had happened after that miserable trog and its human companion had tripped him up during a chase. He'd gone over the edge of a cliff and had landed wrong. It was simply amazing that he hadn't broken anything. He also had acquired a limp, which was slowly getting better, but it still slowed him down.

His luck lately had been nothing but bad. His life was nothing but a series of failures. It was difficult to not let that drag him down into a mire of depression. Well, he would get depressed and often, it just took a lot of effort to not let it totally run his life. Some days, though, it just wasn't worth fighting against, like today.

It wasn't like he was getting paid to risk his neck. It wasn't like he was in it for making the crusty backwater planet Earth a better place, he was of a mind that no amount of meddling, short of gassing the whole planet would accomplish that. So why? He sat down heavily on a bare rock and stared up at the starry sky. Why was he taking guff from something that looked like a giant space cat would have hacked it up in a hairball?

He didn't know. Really, he didn't. Some sleepless nights as he would lay in his berth, he'd wonder. But it wasn't as if he could just leave if he wanted to. He was stuck there. He didn't know of anyone who'd be willing to risk their status to pick him up. He'd been shunned after losing his Captaincy. He was detested after signing up with Dr. Hamsterviel.

Gantu didn't understand why. After all, he was just trying to do his job. Why was HE seen as the bad guy? He'd never been one of the bad guys. That was why he'd gone after all the abominations. They were the bad guys, he was the good guy. All that somehow changed when he wasn't looking--- now he was just seen as the Big Dummy. He hated that most of all. It stung what was left of his pride and helped spur him on to the next nearly assured failure.

Now he sat there on a rock in that heavily wooded tropical island and seriously considered just turning back. He'd never given up before. It just wasn't part of his make up to just let something go. It had been what had gotten him this far. But now--- now he just had to wonder if he really cared anymore.

He stared at the sky, searching for his homeworld star, knowing he was in the wrong quadrant to even see it. He doubted he'd ever see it again, not that there was anyone living there that would be worth the trip. He had nothing and knew it.

A rustling in the brush brought his attention back. He gripped his gun, ignoring the pain in his wrist, and aimed in the direction automatically. His hand shook slightly with the strain from the injury, but he didn't lower his pistol. Gantu slowly stood, his sight now limited to what was at the end of his gun. He squeezed the trigger slightly and his heart sped up from the sudden exposure to adrenaline.

Something moved out from behind one bush and skittered over to another. But he had been watching and during that split second recognized just what had moved past him. He doubted that the girl had even known he was there, she'd seemed so intent on what was ahead of her.

If she was here, then the trog couldn't be far behind. Gantu reholstered his gun, figuring he'd need both hands free to get through the heavy undergrowth to follow.

Maybe it was habit. He didn't know, but whatever it was, he followed after, taking care to not make too much noise as he passed through the forest. He'd been huge all his life, so he had lots of practice. Gantu was actually really good at not being noticed when he didn't want to be. Which was a good thing on a planet where there was no other way for him to blend into the population.

But, unfortunately, in dealing with the six hundred and twenty-six abominations, size was necessary to intimidate. Hasn't worked, as of yet, but he always hoped it would eventually.

Gantu followed the young child easily. She made more noise then he did, even though he could tell she was trying not to. He smiled grimly. To think this diminutive youth had thwarted his efforts time and time again. She wasn't even a super genius--- of course, she had the assistance of experiment 6-2-6 and Jumba. All he had was 6-2-5 and all 6-2-5 ever contributed to the cause was sandwiches. Because of the yellow vermin, he'd sworn off baloney forever. Some days, it felt like everything smelt of baloney. Then he'd just leave the ship on some false errand just to try to get that scent out of his nose.

It looked like she was heading towards an old lava tube and still no sign of the abomination. But Gantu couldn't worry about that at the moment. He knew 6-2-6 was near. Where there was one, there was the other. It was just an axiom that he took to heart. Also made his job a lot easier.

So he skulked after her, wondering what she was doing out there. He wasn't sure which of the experiments were loose out in the area. But who cared? Gantu still dogged the human with ease.

It was dark out, but even darker inside the lava tube with the lack of starlight and moonlight to show the way.

Gantu was certain after much observation that she was indeed by herself. Whatever happened to adult supervision, anyway? And where was that disgusting vermin that was always with her? He shrugged. Who the frell cared? As long as he succeeded, then nothing really mattered.

He followed her. It was easy. She was just a child, after all.

It wasn't long, though, when he heard a shout of surprise. Cautious, he continued after. He drew his weapon. Gantu itched to have his gun in hand, but he was in close quarters. Who knew who else was in there.

Gantu felt the floor give way. He was cut off in mid yelp as part of his breath was taken from him due to the fall.

Shakey, gasping, Gantu tried to stand, but then sagged back into collapse. A cloud of black ash drew in a coughing fit. When his night vision cleared, he could see his hand barely in front of his face. His wrist could have been better.

He heard another's coughing. The girl. He froze. She was in there with him. Great. Just great.

"Stitch?" The familiar high pitched question grated on his nerves.

"Not here." Gantu found himself answering.

There was a momentary silence.

"You better get out of here." He heard her warn.

Gantu wanted to laugh. A five year old warning him off--- however, this was the very five year old who'd warded him from countless experiments time and time again.

"I dare say you're quite the one to talk." Gantu said. "Where's you're back up?"

More silence, as if she was trying to come up with something to say, then, "He's not here."

"Truth. That must be a mouthful to swallow." Gantu said feeling superior at the moment for some reason, even though he was in the same fix.

"Why were you following me?"

Resourceful little girl. "It's within my interests to follow you. Where you go, experiments follow."

"Not this time."

"Sorry, not buying that one. You, up at this hour, alone--- spells experiment." Gantu said.

"Didn't you hear me? Not this time!"

She sounded adamant, which Gantu didn't trust one bit, "You and that TROG are up to something and I want to know what!"

"NO!" She renounced.

"I don't believe you."

"I don't care what you do or don't believe." Lilo stated firmly.

Gantu sighed. This was getting no where. But at least his eyes were slowly getting adjusted to the lack of light. He could barely make out the miniscule adversary that stood before him. With ease he could squash her. But he didn't. He was the good guy, he kept telling himself. He was the good guy.

"You wouldn't be here without a reason." Gantu said almost to himself. "And not without--- him."

"Stitch isn't here." She repeated.

But it fell on deaf ears. "As if you'd go anywhere without that trog!"

"Stitch isn't a trog---, um, whatever that is." Lilo said.

"Vermin! You know what that is, don't you?"

Lilo nodded, then realized it was rather dark and he probably couldn't see. "Yeah."

"And I'm the exterminator." Gantu replied as if that was all the logic that mattered.

"No, you're the Big Dummy!" Lilo said defiantly.

Gantu grit his teeth. "I am not!"

"Yes you are!"

"Am not!"

"Are so!"

"Look! It's just you and me here. And you are going to tell me what you are doing here!" Gantu nearly shouted.

"Do you have cotton in your ears? I said no!"

"I don't have ears!" Gantu growled back.

"That's right, 'cause you're a big dumb fish!"

"I'm not a fish!" Gantu shouted at her.

"But you ARE a Big Dummy!"

"I'm NOT A BIG DUMMY!"

"You followed me here where there's no experiment to be found." Lilo said too smugly for Gantu's taste. "Sounds dummy-like to me."

He balled his fists up, trembling with the effort not to lash out. "Infuriating child!"

"I'm not a child!" Lilo said.

"How old are you?"

"Um, nine."

"Child."

"Well, when you get the government involved, then yeah, I guess I'm considered a child."

Gantu exhaled in satisfaction. "See?"

"I don't see anything. It's dark!"

Gantu sighed. Spoken like a true child. "So, here we are."

"Yeah."

"Now, why are we here?"

"I'm not telling you." Lilo said and from her tone Gantu knew he would get nothing valuable out of her.

"Then how about we sit and wait here until we find out why?" Gantu said reasonably, knowing he had all the time in the world for whatever it was.

To be continued---


	2. Chap II

Everyone's Ohana

Part II

A Lilo & Stitch Fanfic

By Brenna "Snakelady" Dawkins

Rating: PG13 

Disclaimer: Lilo and Stitch and all subsequent characters are owned and copyrighted by Disney Studios. I have made no money off of this or any of my other fanfics… pity!

Summary: Lilo and Gantu must work together to escape capture, if only they can cooperate long enough without getting on each others nerves.

-----

Lilo angrily tugged at the long sleeved button up shirt Nani had made her wear whenever she went out at night. It was ugly and she hated it with a passion, but Nani had made it clear that if she was going out at night, then she had to wear at least a long sleeved shirt against the cold. Not that it ever got very cold on the island. But Nani had become rather overprotective of late.

And it was because of some well meaning protectiveness that she was there now. But she hadn't counted on running into Gantu on her mission. Things always seemed to go wrong when he was around.

She was suddenly blinded by a bright light and she raised up her arm to cover her eyes. When the pain of the sudden appearance of light went away, she carefully lowered her arm and saw a hovering robot probe. It had a single lens and a spotlight and both were focused on her.

"You were instructed to come alone." A deep voice with a heavy alien accent came over the probes loudspeakers. The light was now cast over a scowling Gantu.

"It wasn't my fault! Honest! I came alone! But he followed me!"

"You broke your promise. We must collect both of you now."

"Wait! I didn't break any promise! I came alone! Now, where's my sister?" Lilo shouted at the probe.

"No one's collecting me!" Gantu took out his gun and pointed it at the alien device. But before he could squeeze off a shot, he and Lilo were temporarily zapped out of existence. When they reappeared a heartbeat and a half later, they were in bright surroundings. Gantu still had his gun out but it was now pointed at nothing. He blinked and lowered his weapon.

"What happened? Where are we?" Lilo asked somewhat shaken by the unexpected experience.

Gantu looked about him, "Transporter. We've been--- stolen."

"NO! I have to save Nani first!"

"Who is Nani?" Gantu wondered.

"My SISTER!" Lilo shouted impotently. "They took her! I came here to get her back! But you messed it all up!"

"There is no need to shout." Gantu said and put his gun away with some reluctance. There was nothing to shoot at in their sparce cell.

"I was this close to getting her back! Why didn't you just go away?" Lilo couldn't stop the tears from falling as she glared at the huge alien. "I'll never see Nani again! I hate you!"

Gantu was used to not being everyone's favorite guy. But her comment stung, not that he could ever let on that it did. "Well, to each their own. But here we are and the most important business at hand is to escape."

"And then save my sister."

"Um, yes. I suppose." The hulking alien reluctantly agreed. Anything to stop the tears and accusations. They were unnerving and he just wasn't very good at empathy.

"So, how DO we get out of here?" Lilo wanted to know as she wiped the tears from her eyes.

Gantu took a closer look of the surroundings. It was a fairly large room as far as cells went. Well lit too. But just like a cell, there was nothing to look at, nothing to sit on, and one big door that probably had a special seal around it. Foolish of their captors to let him keep his weapon, though. He smirked and took up his blaster again, aiming for the door.

"I suggest you stand behind me." Gantu instructed the girl. To his amazement, she obeyed by scurrying behind a leg that was as wide around as her entire body. He ignored the pain in his wrist and fired at the door.

The loud clap from the impact made Lilo cover her ears. The hardened plastic of the cell sizzled from the blast and took on a charred tinge, but that was all that had happened.

"There has to be a weak spot." Gantu grumbled mostly to himself. "No cell is perfect."

"How do you know? You have that bad a record on escapees?" Lilo snidely replied.

Gantu grit his teeth, aware of her baiting him and tried desperately not to rise to it.

"I will check our surroundings closer."

Lilo watched as he stepped away from her. In only a few strides he was by the wall. "What do you want me to do?"

"Stay out of my way." Gantu instructed sourly. It was impossible having that little human constantly under foot. He knew she was giving him the evil eye. His back twitched and he refused to turn around to confront her. After close inspection of their cell, he came to the conclusion that there was no way out except by their captor's good graces.

"Well?" Lilo demanded.

"We're stuck here." Gantu said finally and wondered why he didn't go back to his ship when he had the chance. It was humiliating. He--- an ex-Captain of the Galactic Alliance--- captured and imprisoned easier then falling off a gandeebob. It was almost too much to bear.

Lilo sighed and sat on the floor. It was impossible. Why did she have to be imprisoned with Gantu, of all people? If it was Stitch of Jumba, they'd be able to figure out a way to escape. Even Pleakly would be more comforting to have around then the Big Dummy. She stared at the door, hoping beyond hope that it would just magically open up by itself and she'd be free. But it wouldn't and she wasn't. How could she help Nani when she was in the same fix?

Gantu paced back and forth in front of the door, glaring at it, knowing if anyone came through that door, he could more then likely overpower them with brute strength. And he would then pound them into the ground for subjecting him to such humiliation!

"Do you have to do that?"

Gantu continued pacing, not looking at the girl, "Do what?"

"Pacing. It's getting on my nerves." Lilo said.

Gantu paused in his rounds, "You know what's getting on MY nerves?"

"Don't care."

Gantu swelled with anger, unable to release it effectively. So he strode to the door and began to pound on it, using all his backed up frustration and anger to fuel his hard hitting punches. The door withstood the punishment with ease, which only won it more hurt from the enraged Gantu.

Lilo watched as Gantu passionately battled against the door. She shook her head. If a plasma blaster wouldn't do any damage, why did he think a pair of fists would?

"You're only going to hurt yourself if you keep doing that." Lilo told him as she sat in her spot.

Gantu didn't let up, "I don't need your concern! Besides, this makes me feel better!"

Lilo sat there quietly, watching the show. It wasn't like there wasn't anything else to do. He didn't show any sign of slowing down either. It wore her out just to watch.

Gantu grunted and stopped suddenly, holding his wrist. He was breathing heavily and wandered sluggishly to the other side of the room where he leaned up against the bare wall and slid to the ground, his wrist still cradled in his large hand.

"Told ya." Lilo supplied, but didn't turn around to face the big alien.

"That was from an earlier incident, no thanks to you and the trog." Gantu confirmed.

"Stitch is NOT a trog!"

"He was made in a test tube. He's an abomination that has no place in the universe."

Lilo stubbornly replied, "Lot's of humans get made in test tubes. That doesn't make them abominations! I think those horns of yours are on too tight."

"I don't need a child telling me what's what!" Gantu growled as he leaned up against the wall. His wrist throbbed painfully. Okay, he had to admit it had been stupid to beat on the door, but he only did so because that was the only way he could let his anger out.

"Look, we're stuck here. I don't like it, and it's obvious you don't like it. I think we should try to get along." Lilo suggested.

Gantu grumbled to himself in his own language but didn't answer her.

Lilo sighed again. It was a hopeless situation. She passed time by brainstorming on possible ways of escape.

"What about an explosion?" Lilo wondered out loud after a time.

"What about it?" Gantu asked.

"Would that work?"

"And just how would we create an explosion?" Gantu asked wearily.

"That gun of yours. Couldn't you find a way to overload it and let it go off?"

Gantu quietly considered that possibility. The kid might actually have a worthy idea. After hanging out with that crazy scientist, some of his wiles must have eventually rubbed off on her. He took out his gun and rolled it over in his huge hands. It would take a good amount of tinkering, but he definitely had time. Just that without the proper tools, it would take longer then it should.

After a good deal of time went by, Gantu was satisfied that the gun would do what the plan was called for. He stood up and carried the gun in the hand that wasn't hurt. Lilo stood and watched with interest.

"Will it open the door?"

"I don't know." Gantu said honestly as he set the device down right in front of the door. He pressed a button and a high pitched beeping told her that the thing was now active. "I think it's a good idea to back up against the far wall. Don't know how big the blast radius will be."

Lilo nodded and made for the far wall as did Gantu. They both pressed up against it, getting as far away from the door as they could. Gantu loomed above her as he stood there. Usually his immense size was intimidating, but in a case like this, it was oddly comforting.

The flash from the gun blinded her, making her cover her eyes with her hands. Then a split second later, a loud explosion sent a shock wave slamming into them, knocking the breath out of Lilo and sending her to her knees. The ground shook with the force of the massive explosion. Lilo gasped as the oxygen was being burned up, then coughed and gagged on the smoke and fumes.

She heard the sound of something giving way and was too short of breath to protest being knocked flat to the ground by Gantu. She jabbed his gut with her elbow angrily, which only won a grunt from the giant that had knocked her down. He was covering her with his hulking form. It was like she was inside a big cave. Finally getting her breath back, she wriggled over to where his elbow met his knee and tried to crawl through the small opening. From her vantage point, she could see a large portion of the bulkhead was peeling away from the structure right above them.

"Stay put!" Gantu ordered.

She looked around and was startled to see his face upside down peering at her. It was then she realized that he was shielding her from possible harm with his own body. She eased back away from the gap.

There was an ear splitting wail that only metal rending itself in two could make. Lilo cringed at the sound. The sound grew louder as the piece of wall sheared all the way down its length. A thundering crash shook the floor and at the same time she felt Gantu's body quake with the impact.

Gantu shrieked as it felt like his back was being flayed by searing hot pokers. The piece of bulkhead had crashed into him. It took everything he had to not collapse on top of Lilo. His whole body trembled from the pain and the effort of supporting that mass of bulkhead. He gulped in the air turned mildly toxic.

"Gantu?"

Gantu gasped out. "Stay there--- until I check to make sure the rest of the place--- isn't going to come crashing down."

He uncovered his head in order to see if anything else was going to happen. His shaking worsened with the effort of raising his heavy head. He eyed the shredded wall. Well, it looked like the cell had a weak spot after all. Too bad half of it seemed to be pressing down on top of him.

"All clear." Gantu told her.

She nodded and scrambled out from under him. It was with great relief that he sank to the ground--- well, more like crumbled. His back was now numb and he knew that was a bad sign.

"You don't look so good." Lilo observed.

Gantu exhaled slowly as he lay flat out on the floor, wedged under the bulkhead that had been taken out by the blast. "What a wonderfully observant child, you are." He said sarcastically through gritted teeth.

"Does it hurt?"

"Yes."

"I'm sorry. It was my idea. It was my fault."

"Well--- not entirely your fault." Gantu said somewhat reluctantly.

Lilo looked around her, "What happens now?"

"See that hole in the wall?" Gantu asked, unable to lift his head up to see it himself.

"Yeah."

"You go over there, go through it, and escape like we planned."

"This wasn't part of the plan."

Gantu found it hard to take a deep breath with all that weight pressing down on top of him, "No. But we planned for the blast to make a hole to escape through. Now, it worked--- sort of. Escape."

Lilo gave him a worried look. "Leave you here? Alone?"

"There's no choice."

Stubbornly, Lilo sat down in front of his head, almost eye level. "No. No one gets left behind. Not even you."

"Foolish child! There's nothing you can do for me!"

But Lilo just shook her head. "No one gets left behind."

To Be Continued---


	3. Chap III

Everyone's Ohana

Part III

A Lilo & Stitch Fanfic

By Brenna "Snakelady" Dawkins

Rating: PG13 

Disclaimer: Lilo and Stitch and all subsequent characters are owned and copyrighted by Disney Studios. I have made no money off of this or any of my other fanfics… pity!

Summary: Lilo and Gantu must work together to escape capture, if only they can cooperate long enough without getting on each others nerves.

-

"Maybe I should see how bad it really is." Lilo offered.

"You aren't a xenologist." Gantu snorted sourly as he rested his chin on the hard ground.

But Lilo ignored his brusque comment and grabbed a hold of some of his sleeve and scrambled up onto his arm.

"What are you doing?" He demanded grumpily. He could barely keep her in site from the corner of his eye. There wasn't anyway he could by turning his head, to move any part of his body was a lesson in new pain.

Lilo scaled her way up to his shoulders. "Wow, your shoulder's are as wide as a Buick!"

"What's a Buick?"

"Big, blingy car." Pause. "E-e-eew."

"What? What do you see?" Gantu couldn't help but ask anxiously.

Lilo fingered her lip and tried to side step some of the shrapnel that littered the giants back. Blood was oozing everywhere she looked. But that wasn't what really worried her. Part of the wall and ceiling was pinning him down. Upon closer inspection, she could see that some of the metal had embedded itself into his back. That's where most of the blood was coming from. She knew that there would be no way she could move it. And Gantu could barely lift his pinky, let alone the thing that was pinning him.

"Um, we-e-e-e-ell-" Lilo hedged uncertainly.

Gantu sighed. He could guess by her reluctance. "I see."

"Don't suppose you can get up?" Lilo wondered.

"No." Was his curt reply.

"I can't move it."

Gantu's face was screwed up into a very unpleasant scowl, partly from the pain, partly from having to deal with the child. "Just get down from there. There's no good you can do up there and besides, I am NOT a jungle gym."

He felt her scramble back down, doing her best to avoid hurting him further for a change. He was relieved when she came back within his sight once more. It made him nervous not being able to see her and being so completely helpless. This was not how he figured how he would go. This was the ultimate humiliation. Even worse then dying while helpless and alone was he'd be dying alone and stuck with this annoying Earthling child!

"Just stay where I can see you." Gantu tried to order. But he knew better. One, he was in no position to order anyone around, and two, he knew she'd always just do what she wanted to do anyway.

"You got trust issues." Lilo said as she sat back down. Once more she was nearly eye to eye with the giant ex Captain. He was still scowling at her. She didn't know if she'd ever seen any other expression on his face.

"Is this small talk to pass the time or is it genuine?" Gantu asked. For someone who didn't pay attention to directions, she was unusually observant. He'd learned long ago that it didn't pay to trust too much, if at all. Every time, EVERY time, he ended up paying for that mistake.

"Um, the first one?"

Gantu snorted, "Then forget it."

"You sure?"

"I'm sure."

Time passed. He was really starting to feel the blood loss. The lightheadedness was hard to ignore. Gantu knew he was dying. Depending on how quickly he was loosing blood, maybe a day or two, but more then likely, just hours. Funny how when things looked their bleakest you tended to dwell on regrets. How many years had he been stuck on that planet? How many hours had he been literally isolated from the rest of the galaxy? It had eaten away at him, slowly but surely. Pecked away at his will and pride until what remained was wholly unrecognizable to him. He was no longer the prideful and competent Captain of the Galactic Alliance, but the pathetic castaway scrounging after failed experiments for a wanted criminal.

"I'm thirsty. I think I hear water running up there."

Through the fog that was forming in his head, he managed to slowly swim back to reality upon hearing her words. "Pipe must have burst from inside the wall."

Lilo saw that it wouldn't be much of a challenge to get up to where she thought the pipe might be located. The problem would be the potential to cut herself on the sharp metal, rather then getting to the leaking pipe.

Much the same way she climbed Gantu, she slithered up the shorn metal. She made quite a lot of noise as she made her way up. The last half of the climb meant she had to scale the very piece of wall that was embedded in alien's back. She heard him inhale sharply from the pain as she added her slight weight onto the metal beam.

"Sorry." She climbed across the beam as quickly as she could. Lilo made it to the hole in the wall safely. It was like the walls at home except they were metal. Inside the wall from the other room and their own cell was any number of pipes and wiring. The blast had shorn enough of the wall away so that she could see into the next room. Actually, it looked like a hallway. It was so weird that with all the racket of the blast that no one had ever come to see if their prisoners had escaped.

Lilo squeezed her way partially inside the wall to get to the running water that was leaking down into the depths between the part of the wall that still existed. She cupped her small hands under the dripping and waited for it to pool in her palm. Lilo drank until her thirst was slaked. She had no idea how long she'd been in that cell. She knew it was wa-a-a-ay past her bedtime. Lilo was about to climb down when she guiltily recalled how helpless Gantu was and that he might be just as thirsty as she had been. But she had no way to get any water down to him. Definitely not in her hands. She took one last handful of water and her cheeks bulged from it. No, no way would she give him water mouth to mouth. The very thought gave her the willies.

So she had to think of another way. For some reason, she thought of laundry day, how it took simply forever for her favorite pajamas to hang dry. Suddenly inspired, she smacked herself in the head for not thinking of it before and shrugged off that long sleeved shirt Nani had made her wear. The water poured over her shirt, soaking into it thoroughly. She knew he would protest at being given water in that way, but it was the best she could do.

Her climb down was a lot faster then it had been going up.

"Got you some water." She said to him.

He eyeballed the sopping wet shirt. "You're kidding."

"This or nothing."

With a long-suffering sigh, Gantu reluctantly took the offering. His mouth opened and she got a good look inside that cavernous mouth. So many sharp teeth! And she was going disturbingly close to them. The image of JAWS flitted through her mind sending shivers down her spine. She hesitated a moment then screwed her courage back into place. She laid the shirt onto his tongue, holding her breath against his own fishy foulness. If they were both going to survive this, she was going to suggest mouthwash to him.

It was like chewing on a cotton swab, Gantu noted. But when he bit down, some cooling water squeezed out onto his tongue and down his throat. He hadn't realized how parched he'd been because of the blood loss. Her scent was soaked into the shirt along with the water, changing the taste. But he wanted the water enough to not care what it tasted like.

"Um, thanks." He managed over the mouthful of the shirt.

Lilo smiled and sat back down in her spot.

After Gantu got all the water out of the shirt he was going to get, he spit it out. "You should go and save your sister."

"What about you?"

"I'm finished. But your sister may not be. Don't waste the opportunity I gave you to escape. Go get her and get yourselves out of here."

Lilo looked into his eye uncertainly. "You'll die."

"I'm dead already. You cannot save me. Go- save your sister."

She stood slowly, looked up at the hole in the wall then back down into his eye. "By the way- I don't hate you. You saved me. Thank you."

For the first time, she saw him smile, not the malicious smile of triumph when he'd temporarily had captured an experiment, but a genuine smile. "Get out of here."

Lilo nodded and once more climbed her way to the hole in the wall. Once on top, she looked down once more at Gantu. Her smile was bitter sweet. In the end, it seems he wasn't the Big Dummy after all.

Gantu heard her leave and heaved a heavy sigh. Now he was really alone. He never figured that he'd miss her, even though it was mostly silent company. But at least it was company. Upon reflection, he should have taken the offer to talk. Not that he was necessarily the talkative type, but she had offered an ear and he had refused.

He cursed his father for planting the seed of distrust. How much unnecessary pain had he had to endure because of it? He then cursed himself for his own stupidity. For listening, for not listening. For all the wasted time and lost chances. He closed his eyes tightly, but that didn't blot out his life's mistakes. Only one thing would, and that would come soon enough.

Let it, he relaxed his body. Just let it come and be done with it all. He finally blacked out.

To Be Continued-


	4. Chap IV

Everyone's Ohana

Part IV

A Lilo & Stitch Fanfic

By Brenna "Snakelady" Dawkins

Rating: PG13 

Disclaimer: Lilo and Stitch and all subsequent characters are owned and copyrighted by Disney Studios. I have made no money off of this or any of my other fanfics… pity!

Summary: Lilo and Gantu must work together to escape capture, if only they can cooperate long enough without getting on each others nerves.

When Gantu woke, again, the first thing he was aware of was the warm, humid air. That wasn't the same air he recalled from the ship. In fact, it felt a lot like the air on that abominable island he'd been marooned on forever. But that couldn't be possible. He must be delirious after all the blood loss. But there was a warming breeze and the smell of ocean- and he thought he smelled _her_. After getting a mouthful of her from the shirt, he had her scent damn near memorized.

'Open your eyes,' he told himself. Then, 'What for? There wasn't anything to look at. Only the stark reminder that I'm really alone after all and there's no hope.'

Something smacked into his nose painfully. His nose was ultra sensitive and he reflexively opened his eyes to see what it had been.

He saw palm trees and sand and a bouncing red ball. A small familiar figure ran in front of his line of sight after the ball. He blinked in surprise. He was back on Earth. But that was impossible! He tried to stand, but the pain shot through his body spiraling out of his back and he had to work hard to suppress a shout from it. The giant eased his hulking and aching body back down only then noticing that there was a very large and hastily prepared two and a half story tall wooden shelter built over his prone body. He swung his head around, wincing at the pain that brought in his back even with that small movement and saw a very familiar house as well.

His sudden movement had caught Lilo's attention and she puttered up to look him in the eye. She smiled.

"You finally woke up! Sorry about the nose. Hey, you want something to eat? You've been out of it for several days. You should be hungry by now."

"As a matter of fact, I am hungry."

She made to dash off into the house but he called out to her.

"Wait! How… how did I get here?"

Lilo turned around. "Found my sister, found a communicator and called Jumba. Pleakly took me and Nani back home. I told Jumba and Stitch to pick you up. Stitch carried you to the ship and Jumba patched you up in our yard. Can I get you something to eat now?"

"Um, sure. Wait… what about the ship guards?" Gantu said feeling a little overwhelmed.

"Ship guard. It was just that one robot. Stitch took care of it."

"Why'd your sister get taken anyway?"

Lilo shrugged. "How should I know?"

He watched the tiny figure scurry into the house to fill his food order, not that he had actually ordered anything. He hoped there was no baloney on the menu. He tried to get a better look of his surroundings. First thing he noticed was that he was minus one shirt, but at least still had the pants. Of course, his shirt would have been a bloody tatters by now anyway.

Why? That was what he wanted to know. Why had he been saved? After all that had happened? After all he had done to that family? He wasn't up to thinking that deeply after loosing that much blood.

But he was safe, well, he supposed he was safe. He knew it was dangerous to assume such things, but he didn't feel like being overly suspicious at the moment. Before he knew it, someone was there back in front of him. It was that older Earth woman he sometimes saw with Lilo. Was this Nani?

He eyed her cautiously, not knowing what to expect.

Nani clasped one of her arms all the while looking up at the huge alien uncertainly.

"Lilo told me how you saved her life. I owe you. I owe you a lot more then I can ever repay. Thank you."

Gantu couldn't think of anything to say so he just nodded. The movement sent a shock of pain up his spine and he winced again miserably.

"Ah, you back among the living."

Gantu knew the sound of Jumba's voice. He grit his teeth in a great effort not to swear at the scientist. After all, according to Lilo, it was the scientist that had patched him up.

"Any little movement hurts." He complained to the scientist.

Jumba nodded, "Yes, well, to be expected. All muscles connect to back. Neck, arm, leg, stomach. Back hurts, all hurts."

Made sense. At least one thing did, anyway.

"Why? Why save me?" He really wanted to know. It seemed more important than anything else, which was stupid. His health should have worried him more. But those questions had been answered, at least in part. He had no answer for why.

"For that, ask little girl." Jumba told him. "She insisted. Save you. She would not let us board own ship until we save you. So we save you. And here we are."

"On the ship… she told me no one gets left behind." Gantu said thoughtfully.

Nani nodded, "Sounds like she's trying to add a new member to our family. And you are welcome, if only you stop working against us with capturing the experiments."

Gantu was silent. It would mean quitting of Dr Hamsterviel. Not a bad thing at all, if one thought on it. But then what would he do? Where would he go? He groaned as his head swam with it all. It was too confusing. He hoped he didn't have to make his mind up right away. And anyway… if he agreed… to be a part of that strange family… what of 6-2-5? Then he wondered why he worried at all about the annoying abomination.

"You don't have to worry about it right now. All you have to concentrate on is getting better." Nani said gently.

So Gantu tried not to worry about it, but that was easier said then done. He was left alone to ponder his fate. Soon Lilo came back out with a tray.

"Don't know what you like, so I got you a bunch of different stuff." Lilo set the over loaded tray in front of him on the ground.

"Um, thanks." Gantu felt at a loss for what to say or feel. So best to say and feel as little as one could.

He ate, wincing at every movement, but relished every over cooked morsel. He was starving and didn't pay much attention to what it was he was eating. Gantu wasn't used to being cared for on any level. He didn't trust it. He had to be careful lest he slide into complacency. But it was hard. He was tired and it just hurt too much to think.

Tray finished, Lilo nodded with approval. "Cleaned your plate. Nani always gets on my case when I don't."

Gantu remained silent. Maybe she'd go away and give him some peace. Funny, how things worked. One moment he craved companionship, the next, he just wanted to be left alone. And of course, if he wanted one thing, he'd get exactly the opposite.

"I know, cards!" Lilo jumped up and ran into the house.

Gantu sighed with relief but that feeling was short lived. The Earth girl came running back with what looked like a deck of playing cards. His brow furrowed. Well, at least it wasn't checkers. He wasn't good at checkers and didn't know if he could handle losing to the girl. Bad enough that he would lose to 6-2-5. But to the Earth girl? Never!

So he was stuck with playing 'Go Fish' with her. Turned out he was pretty good at it. Of course, there was no real skill to playing the game, but any victory at the moment was a much needed ego boost. The sky started to darken before Gantu realized they'd been playing for several hours. He'd actually been enjoying himself. The pain was still there, but it hadn't been all he could think of since he started playing cards. He suspected that had been the whole point of the game. Or maybe he was just giving her too much credit. After all, she was just a child.

A very devious child.

"Dinner's ready, Lilo!" Pleakly called out from the front door.

"Okay! Almost done with this hand!" She shouted back.

"Go on. Go eat." Gantu set his cards down.

Lilo hesitated then shrugged and set her own hand down. "You need anything?"

"I don't understand why you suddenly care how I feel."

"Just… changed my mind about you is all."

Gantu was silent. Lilo went into the house to eat. He was left alone to digest that morsel.

The next day, with a little grumbling on Gantu's part, Jumba was up on the giant's back removing the old and bloody bandages and reapplying the new. It was quite an undertaking and required everyone in the house to help out.

"Finally came up with pain killer that work with your physiology. Might make groggy factor, but hey, can't all win." Jumba informed his impatient patient.

"Fine." Gantu had trouble sleeping last night from the pain. He was willing now to try anything to dull the agony. He had no choice but to trust them. It twisted something raw in his gut to do so, but it was trust or pain. He chose trust.

Jumba pulled out the space aged hypodermic which looked more like a plasma gun then anything else. Gantu felt the drug enter into his system and his body seemed to react instantly. He felt a momentary sense of panic, wondering if it had been some sort of trick, but then the drug fogged up his thinking and the pain and his mind were equally dulled.

"He'll be out for couple hours." Jumba told them.

"He looks all… goofy." Lilo stared at the drugged up ex officer.

"Pain killers often do that." Jumba said.

Gantu had strange dreams. He dreamed he was taking orders from a squat alien rodent who did nothing but scream at him and force him to chase after tiny, vile, and dangerous vermin. That he was stranded on some backwater planet and living with one of those vermin. It was almost rather funny. After all, he was Captain of the Galactic Alliance. He was respected. Even admired in some venues.

Or so he thought.

Reality came rushing back into his head uninvited. It sent him reeling mentally. It hadn't been a dream. All of it, every bit of it was true. How the mighty have fallen, he thought bitterly.

"Aw, look who's woken from his nap. You look so cute all drugged up like that." A familiar yellow furred face swam all unwelcome into view through his messed up vision.

Gantu sighed. "What are YOU doing here?"

"Hey, you know me and how I hate to miss a party." 6-2-5 said too glibly. "So, word on the grapevine is you're quitting Dr. Hamsterviel? Man oh man, would I PAY to see THAT call!"

"I've not decided anything!" Gantu said with his usual fierceness, angry at his business being everyone's business.

"Hey, relax, Big Guy. Don't get your undies all knotted in a bunch. Anyways, can't be too difficult to find a job on an island, right?"

Gantu snorted. A job? Here, on this planet? It would mean he'd admit to defeat. That he'd have no choice but to settle down on a planet he hated. He didn't want to think about it, about any of it. All it did was churn his stomach. All it did was remind him that he was a failure. That he couldn't even be successful at taking orders from a foul tempered rodent. His vision and his mind fuzzed up again making him feel woozy. After affects of the drug, he supposed. He clenched his eyes shut, waiting for the feeling to pass.

"Leave him alone, 6-2-5."

"Sheesh, fine. Got the baloney I ordered?" He heard the rodent ask.

"In the house. Go."

Gantu waited a few moments longer. The feeling finally subsided. When he opened his eyes again, 6-2-5 was no where to be seen. For that he was thankful. She was there. The older Earth girl. She'd ordered 6-2-5 to stop messing with him.

"Hey, you thirsty?" Nani asked him.

"Please no more wet shirts."

"Pardon?" Nani quirked an eyebrow and smirked.

Gantu didn't get the implication.

"We got an old iron tub out in the back when we replaced it with our new one. I can fill that with water and you can drink out of it. Um, kind of like a trough." She said the last sounding embarrassed.

Gantu sighed. Well, what was one more bruise to his already damaged ego? With Jumba's and Pleakly's assistance, they maneuvered the empty tub within Gantu's reach. Then Lilo took the hose and filled the thing with water. Well, Gantu thought, better then sucking on a shirt.

"Wanna continue our card game?" Lilo asked.

And so that's how Gantu spent his days as he waited for his back to heal. Admittedly, with the exception of the pain and daily bandage changes, it felt like a vacation. He was actually settling into a routine. It worried him the first time he noticed it, but then after waiting and waiting for something bad to happen to him, he had to finally just let it go. He needed to save his energy for healing, not worrying about something he might not be able to do anything about anyway.

Nani and Lilo kept 6-2-5 mercilessly away. He wondered what the little trog was doing there in the first place and asked Nani since she was the next person he saw when that question was on his mind.

"Lilo's idea. You know how she is. She went to pick 6-2-5 up when it was clear you'd be here for a while."

"Why'd she do a fool thing like that?" Gantu grumbled.

"Ask Lilo. I'm late to work. I'll be back after dark." She waved to him then got into her car and drove away.

He was used to being alone. He sometimes wondered if he was just meant to be alone for the rest of his life. Maybe he should just resign himself to that distressing fact. It might just end up making things easier. Why did he always end up expecting to get something out of life? Expectations only led to disappointments.

So he lay there, healing, thinking. A body could go crazy if you're left alone with your own thoughts for too long. He often wondered about his own sanity at times. Especially now that he was actually contemplating staying there.

Lilo was off at school, Jumba was doing his scientist thing, Pleakly was playing little Miss Homemaker, and who cared where the trog 6-2-6 was at the moment. And what of him? If he joined them, what would his place be? He'd be just another freak. But that house, it was the perfect place for freaks if nothing else. He should actually just fit right in.

Fine. He made up his mind. He'd call Hamsterviel that very day with the news. A black part of him secretly relished the outrage that would cause the delirious rodent. Then what would he do? He sighed.

Finally Lilo came up the drive on her way home from school.

"Hey, Gantu."

"Lilo." The huge alien said in greeting. "Your sister is at work."

Lilo nodded suspecting as much. "I got so much homework to do." She sighed like the weight of the world was on her shoulders. Gantu would have willingly traded problems with her. "Anything you need before I hit the books?"

"A communicator."

"What for?"

"To tell that miniscule rodent that I quit."

Lilo looked pleased. "You're staying with us?"

"I guess."

"Gee, you could be a little bit more excited."

Gantu stared down at her, "What am I supposed to do when I quit? Mow your lawn once a week?"

"Jumba has a robot that does that." Lilo shook her head. "Well… you could always help us out catching the experiments. I mean, work with us, not against us."

Gantu's expression might have been alien, but Lilo knew it for what it was.

"Really, Gantu. Maybe the reason why you haven't succeeded is because you work for the bad guys, not the good guys."

"But I AM the good guy." Gantu frowned.

"Good guys don't try to hurt the other good guys."

Gantu slightly turned his head away. "I used to be the good guy."

"You're just hanging with the wrong crowd is all. Stay with us, it'll all work out." Lilo said too freely.

How could he trust it? How could he trust anything anymore? Not when nothing was making sense anymore, not his thoughts, not the way things were taking shape.

"I'll go get the communicator. Be right back!" She ran into the house.

His mind was spinning. Things were going too fast when a moment ago they crawled. Seemed to happen a lot when the Earth child was there. She was back too fast. The communicator was shoved into his view. He stared at it a moment as if he didn't know what it was.

"Quite stalling and tell him!" Lilo demanded.

He was embarrassed. That was exactly what he was doing. He didn't want to make the call. The call that would change his life. Again.

"WHAT?" The familiar bucktoothed visage of the foul tempered rodent filled the small view screen after he'd called the number by heart. "You! What do YOU want, you insignificant underling? I spit in your general direction! You disgust me!"

Gantu felt his ire rise. He grit his teeth and balled his fists, almost trembling at the effort to keep from screaming back at the rodent.

Lilo saw the effort and patted his arm in camaraderie.

"Just calling to tell you that I am no longer available to be berated by you."

"What are you saying, you irrefutable baffoon?"

"I quit."

"You can't DO that!" The rodent screamed. "You can't quit until I fire you! And YOU'RE FIRED!"

"I quit before you fired me, you moron!" Gantu screamed back.

"Well, don't expect any references from me, you fat ignoramus!"

"He's not fat, just big boned!" Lilo shouted into the communicator.

"Don't interrupt, you insignificant Earth creature! If I found you on the bottom of my shoe I wouldn't even bother scraping you off!" Hamsterviel shrieked.

"Yeah? Well, you know what I say to that?" Lilo shouted back.

"What!"

Lilo punched the off button. "That's that." She smiled in satisfaction.

Gantu exhaled. He felt almost dazed. Just like that, his life was changed. It was scary. Now what?

"Welcome home!" Lilo said brightly, grinning at him broadly. Then she went off into the house to let him digest his new situation.

Gantu had to admit he was feeling somewhat better. He could move a little more then he had been able to the past few days. That treatment Jumba was giving him seemed to finally be taking affect. So that, coupled with quitting, it'd been a long time since he didn't feel like utter crap in one way or another. He stared up at the house, into the windows, viewed the bustling activity going on inside and was glad. It could be much worse. Much, much worse! In fact, he knew he'd have a hard time trying to find better.

No more Hamsterviel. He was finally free.

Gantu was feeling downright chipper when Nani finally drove in from work late. Gantu knew that it was past Lilo's bedtime, so there wouldn't be much of a commotion when she returned like there usually was. Jumba and Pleakly were still up, he could tell by just watching through the windows.

Gantu had to wonder what it felt like to be missed.

"Hello, Nani." Gantu said mildly in greeting.

She'd been moving slowly and even in the dark he could see she was preoccupied with something. He had pretty descent night vision. He caught her swiping her eyes with her hands, like she was wiping away tears.

"Oh, hello, Gantu." Her voice was strained and he had a feeling she was trying to hold back from weeping.

"You want to talk about it?"

"Talk about what?" She sniffled.

"Whatever's bothering you."

"You? Want to talk with me?" She sounded incredulous.

He didn't blame her. He was amazed he laid the offer out on the table himself.

But instead of whirling off into the house, Nani found herself sitting at his elbow, not saying a word, just staring off into the patch of palms beyond. Wondering why, of all people's shoulders she should cry on, it'd be Gantu's? But Gantu had… changed. She sensed it as she watched the huge alien interact with Lilo during his rehabilitation from within the house. It'd often brought a smile to her lips to watch. Lilo, so eager to make friends, was able to forgive and forget. If Lilo could do it, then so could she.

To be continued…


	5. Chap V

Everyone's Ohana

Part V

A Lilo & Stitch Fanfic

By Brenna "Snakelady" Dawkins

Rating: PG13 

Disclaimer: Lilo and Stitch and all subsequent characters are owned and copyrighted by Disney Studios. I have made no money off of this or any of my other fanfics… pity!

Summary: Lilo and Gantu must work together to escape capture, if only they can cooperate long enough without getting on each others nerves.

"This human… David broke up with you?" Gantu asked, trying to see if he was following Nani's story right.

Nani was still sitting beside the giant alien after having imparted the reason behind her tears.

"I take it the feelings about the break up are not mutual." Gantu had gathered.

"No. No they're not. But there isn't anything I can do about it. When you become a professional surfer, you tour the circuit. Gone months at a time, especially during the summer. He thought it'd be better for the both of us if we were free to see other people."

"Sounds rather selfish to me." Gantu grunted.

But Nani couldn't help but defend David, "It's his chance to earn a living doing what he loves most. It wouldn't be fair for me to stand in his way."

"Making excuses for him?" He wondered.

Well, maybe she was, she thought for a moment. Her eyes had finally dried, but her nose still sniffled and her heart still felt broken.

"What is it you want from him?"

"Love. Security. Companionship." Nani answered readily. What she had when her parents were still alive. What she was always looking for after they had died. She thought she'd found it in David at last. But now he was leaving her as well. It seemed she had to struggle so hard to make sure no one left her that she really cared about. It wasn't fair. It shouldn't have to be this hard! "I lost that a long time ago and have been searching for it ever since."

"At least you had it at one time in your life, others aren't so lucky." Gantu said bitterly.

Nani turned her head to look at him. He was resting his chin on his huge hands. With no pupils in his eyes, she wasn't one hundred percent sure he was looking at her. She couldn't read his expression and didn't know what to say to that.

"We humans have a saying, 'Better to have loved and lost then to never have loved at all.' I don't know whether or not I believe it." Nani said absently.

Gantu snorted, "You humans always have such contradictory sayings." He thought he might've heard that saying before and it didn't make sense to him then either. Of course, he'd never been in love nor had been loved so he had nothing to base it on. "On my planet, we have a saying, 'Once a lover, twice the enemy.'"

"That's a happy thought." Grim, but sadly true, she thought to herself. Love, once lost becomes a very bitter thing. She didn't know if she was bitter, maybe that would come later. Right now she was still swimming through the mire of heartache. "I just don't know what to do."

"A lot of that is going around." Gantu sighed heavily thinking of his own whirlwind life changes. "Don't they also have a saying on your planet of how things always happen in threes?"

Nani nodded at that. "Yeah. And usually the third one is the biggie."

Great, Gantu thought sourly. All he needed was another life change to upset the cart. Was this the thing that would eventually end up going wrong in his life? He knew things had been going too smoothly… well, as smoothly as they could be under the circumstances. See what happened when he trusted?

Nani sighed, "Well, aren't we the happy pair?"

Gantu just grunted.

"I should go on inside. Um, thanks for the talk."

"Sure." Was all Gantu was prepared to say. He doubted he'd helped her out that much and figured she was just being polite about it. The bandaged alien watched her mount the meandering stairway on her way up to the old house. He lay there thinking deep into the night.

The next day, Jumba, Lilo, and Stitch were at Gantu's side.

"Time now to see how healed you are." Jumba said.

Gantu still ached, but it wasn't anywhere as excruciating as it had been the past few days. He could move his arms and neck without grimacing. Good news.

"Try to sit up." Jumba suggested.

Gantu looked dubious but was more then ready to try a different position. The vacation was nice, but he needed a serious break. So he gingerly propped his arms and slowly pushed himself up into a sitting position. The top of his headridge scraped the ceiling of the make-shift shelter. His back protested, but he endured it. What a relief! He sighed, glad of a new position.

"Better." He admitted.

Jumba nodded. "And soon enough, all better. You decided what do now?"

Gantu had not.

"Eega." Stitch said. "Numbala Gantu."

"6-2-6 wonder what of cousin's sent to stupid gerbil-head." Jumba translated.

Gantu shook his head, "More then likely run through a battery of tests. There is no rescuing them if that's what you mean."

Stitch's ears fell and Lilo patted the blue furred creature on his shoulder. "Sorry Stitch, but we still can at least help those that are still here on Earth."

"Ih." Stitch grunted disheartened at the lost experiments.

Gantu was frowning at the thought of having to aide the trog. The very idea went against everything he thought he stood for. But lately, he was having a crisis of conscious. Everything he'd ever believed in seemed to be on the brink of being pitched out on it's end. He felt like he had no control over his future and that was a frightening thought for someone who once had everything planned down to the nanosecond.

He felt utterly lost.

"It's okay, Gantu. When Nani looses a job, it always takes her a while to find something else." Lilo told the giant alien. "And lots of different jobs make for a well rounded person!"

Gantu scowled unhappily. It was time for the bandage change, but at least things would go easier now that he could sit up. He used the time to think. He was thinking an awful lot lately, but never seemed to reach a kind of conclusion he could live with. He felt like whatever he wanted was forever just beyond his grasp.

"I was only really good at one thing, and that was being a Captain." Gantu growled.

Lilo had to admit he stunk at capturing experiments. Of course, she didn't really know just how good a Captain he had been. He'd been fired, after all.

"Afraid you'd have to go into the Navy to be a Captain here on Earth." Lilo replied.

Gantu hung his head. There was nothing for him there.

Jumba went back inside and Lilo got out the cards for their daily card game. Stitch joined in. Gantu couldn't enjoy the game like usual, so lost in thought he was.

"Gantu, you even trying here?" Lilo complained, as it seemed the giant shark-like alien wasn't calling out anything specific.

He sighed, "Sorry."

"You alright?"

"No."

"What's the matter?"

"Just, not up to playing games right now." He folded the cards up in his hand.

"Wanna talk about it?"

"No."

"You sure?" Lilo asked, giving him one last chance.

"I'm sure."

"It's not good keeping it all bottled up like that." Lilo stood and gathered up the cards. "Come on, Stitch."

He watched as Lilo and the blue trog went back into the house. The small Earth girl was doing her best, he supposed. He just had no idea what he should be doing there. He watched the amazing sunset, unmoved by its beauty, so absorbed was he in his thoughts.

The funny wheeled Earth vehicle pulled into it's parking space and Nani got out. She strolled over to where Gantu was.

"You're looking better." She took note of his more vertical position.

"In a manner of speaking." Gantu was still feeling out of his element. He hated that, he hated it a lot. He'd braced himself as he sat there, both palms flat on the ground on either side of him to steady himself.

"Well…" Nani hesitated, "You talked with me about my problems. Let me return the favor."

Gantu stared down at her uncertainly.

"Part of being family is learning to trust." Nani said gently.

"I can't trust anyone."

Nani shook her head and moved up closer. "You can trust us."

He wanted to. He was tired of everything. Tired of being nothing but miserable. Maybe he had been going about everything wrong. Distrusting everything had gotten him nothing. He was literally at the bottom and things couldn't get much worse. He felt a cool hand on top of his own huge one and looked down.

How could such a simple gesture contain so much comfort? Her hand rested there for a moment as she smiled up at him. She stayed a moment longer then went into the house, leaving Gantu feeling very confused.

In the morning, Gantu got up and decided to try to change his bedding of palm fronds. He was a bit wobbly on the feet, but it felt good to be able to do something constructive. There was a tightness in his back as his muscles bunched under the newly forming skin, but the pain was less. He was able to bend over and swept the old bedding out into the palm forest and began to snap off new ones from nearby tops of trees.

He was sweating by the time he finished and his back was aching again. He was out of shape. Gantu hadn't realized just how long he'd been out of commission. With a sigh, he slumped back down onto his new bedding, worn out. He was going to have to take things slow or else he'd be right back, flat out of the running again.

Nani came out carrying a tray with a huge bowl of cereal and some whole fruit. A single white lily was in a tiny vase in the center of that tray.

"Just on my way to work." Nani shrugged and placed the tray in front of Gantu on the ground. "I'll be back late." She waved to him then hurried off to work.

Gantu stared at the flower for a few minutes before taking up the bowl of cereal and slowly began to eat.

Lilo came running out just as he was finishing up.

"Late for school! Bye!" Was her brusque greeting as she whirled past on foot.

He half-heartedly waved after her. Was he really family now? He would have to trust for it to work. He would have to let down his precious walls that he'd built to guard against all. Those walls were pockmarked anyway, weakened with each new regret. That didn't mean that tearing it down would be easy though. It just meant it was that much more stubborn at staying in place.

He stared at the simple flower once more as it sat there on the tray with the empty bowl and broken up fruit rinds. That simple flower threatened to take root in his heart. He could hear the wall trembling against the effort to stay up. And he felt real terror in his heart for that.

Nani drove up the driveway after another long and difficult day at work. She was exhausted. It used to be the first thing she'd see was the house. Now it was the huge structure on stilts that housed the recuperating alien. She was getting used to the sight. Gantu was the first thing she saw when she got home, and the last thing she saw when she left for work. If he was going to really stay, she'd have to talk to Jumba and Pleakly about making a more permanent structure for him.

She got out of the buggy and strolled over to Gantu. She smiled when she saw he kept the small flower and vase at the base of one of the posts that held the ceiling of his shelter up.

"You look tired." Gantu observed.

She nodded, "Yeah. But it puts bread on the table."

"And plenty of baloney as well, I suspect." He eyed the bag of groceries she had still in the automobile.

"The best way to keep 6-2-5 out of your way is to make sure there's plenty of sandwich supplies on hand. Otherwise, he gets bored easily."

"I appreciate that." Gantu admitted. "I mean… everything." He finished lamely and knew he sounded stupid.

"What about you. Aren't you bored?"

"I'm used to it. Used to being alone."

"Doesn't have to be that way anymore. I mean, you have all of us now." Nani hastily added.

"Not used to people giving a blitznack about me. I don't know how to deal with all this… kindness."

Nani heard the sadness in those words and wondered what it must be like to be him. To be quiet literally an outcast. Forever living on the fringe of society, despised, feared. Afraid to trust.

Suddenly she found herself hugging his forearm. Even if he hadn't been wearing the arm bands, his arm was so thick around that she wouldn't have been able to clasp her hands behind either way. So she was mostly just leaning up against him, cheek pressed up against the cold metal bands.

Gantu froze, staring down at the unexpected display. It was safer to do nothing. So he just sat there afraid to feel anything, afraid if he spoke, it'd break the spell.

The front screen door banged open and Nani quickly pushed away from Gantu as if afraid of getting caught. Gantu had to admit he felt a certain amount of disappointment at the interruption.

"Phone for you, Nani!" Lilo called out to her from the porch. "It's David!"

Figures, Gantu thought. He watched Nani smile at him apologetically and run to the house to answer the phone. He hated that he should feel jealous. It was insane. It was just a hug. Of course, when pleasant physical contact was never considered to be a constant, just a hug WAS a big thing.

He hadn't exactly been truthful about the being bored part. He was insanely bored. But he was used to it… didn't mean he liked it though. He didn't know why he didn't tell her. That trust issue again, he supposed. Also, he was indebted to that family enough. It wasn't up to them to see he was kept entertained. But it sure would be nice.

Gantu sat there and all he could do was think. And lately, he couldn't even trust his own thoughts. They led him to frightening places. It made him think of irrational things like finally belonging, finally finding something… someone to care about. He didn't understand any of it. Nothing in his life lately had made much sense anyway. Why should it all start to make sense now?

He was tired of fighting against it. So why not just let it take him where it would?

To be continued...


	6. Chap VI

Everyone's Ohana

Part VI

A Lilo & Stitch Fanfic

By Brenna "Snakelady" Dawkins

Rating: PG13 

Disclaimer: Lilo and Stitch and all subsequent characters are owned and copyrighted by Disney Studios. I have made no money off of this or any of my other fanfics… pity!

Summary: Lilo and Gantu must work together to escape capture, if only they can cooperate long enough without getting on each others nerves.

When Nani drove up the drive late in the afternoon after finishing an early shift at work, it wasn't hard to notice the beginnings of a huge and permanent looking structure sprouting up from where the old shanty-esque shelter's original spot had been. Gantu was assisting Jumba and Pleakly as much as his injuries would allow. The structure was very tall and ovoid and looked like it had just started being built on that morning. It was still mostly a skeletal looking thing… like the ribcage of a giant whale exposed. She winced at the unfortunate simile. It looked like they had to clear a swath of nearby palm trees to make room for the new building. Nani couldn't help but worry about building permits. But she supposed she could always call Cobra Bubbles to fix them like he had when they had to rebuild the entire house.

She stepped out and approached the cacophony. It was then that she noticed the big hole in the ground and groaned. Jumba hadn't said anything to her about an excavation project so close to the house.

"Jumba! Can I have a word with you?" She called out to the multi-eyed and multi-talented alien.

Jumba removed the grime-covered goggles so he could see. "Yes Bigger Girl?"

"What's with the big hole?" She gestured towards the large pit. "I told you before, no motes!"

"That? Well, for to build working sink and water closet implements in Gantu's house, needed new pipe system. Then noticed how bad old septic tank was and decided, why not?"

"Why not what?" Nani wanted to know.

Jumba shrugged, "Ripped it out, built brand new better system, heheheh!"

Nani rubbed her temple and sighed. She was tired and wasn't up to alien shenanigans. As long as nothing blew up, then she was fine and dandy with it at the moment.

"Okay, fine. Whatever."

"Oh, and better not to use microwave." Jumba warned.

Nani had begun walking towards the house, but then turned in place and wasn't sure she wanted to know why, "Do I even want to know?"

"His fault! Oh yeah! All his fault!" Pleakly appeared beside Jumba and pointed accusingly at the larger alien. "I told him not to hook it up to the nebuliser, but no-o-o-o!"

Jumba laughed nervously as Nani glared at him. "It's broken?"

"Well, would not say broken." Jumba replied.

"Try, more like in orbit!" Pleakly crossed his rubbery arms and shook his head.

Gantu watched the exchange, wondering about the sanity of this particular family. A family he was now apparently a part of. Well, it was still better then being abused by that fur ball Dr Hamsterviel. But part of him still wondered what he was getting himself into.

Nani threw up her arms and made a disparaging sound, then turned and stomped off into the house. Gantu found himself watching her. Once he realized what he was doing, he quickly found something else to be of interest. What he didn't need in his life right at that moment was something else to complicate it even more then it already was. And getting that close to the natives of that planet was definitely going to complicate things. But who could blame him? He was lonely.

Annoyed at his flights of fancy, Gantu grabbed up another bolt and tossed it to Pleakly as he tried not to think too hard.

Later in the day after the construction was called to a halt. It was getting late. Lilo came and he played their usual card game with her. She chattered on and on about the usual, but he paid no mind. It did no good when he tried not to think. So he gave up the struggle and thought deeply.

"Hel-lo, Gantu!" Lilo had been waiting for the huge alien to play his hand for long enough.

He stirred out of his reverie with a shake of his horned head. "Um, what?"

Lilo shook her own head, "You think too much, Gantu."

"Nothing wrong with that." Gantu muttered.

"Well, maybe you should stop all that thinking and start doing." Lilo said. "Your play, by the way."

'Easier said then done.' He sourly thought to himself as he played his hand.

"Sure you don't want to talk about it?" Lilo asked.

Gantu opened his mouth about to spill everything out, but something made it all stick in his throat. He tried once more, but no luck. He shut his mouth again and shook his head.

Lilo sighed. "Well, if not to me, then to someone at least. Someone you can trust, 'cause apparently, you don't trust me enough to tell me about it."

He heard the tone in her voice and knew it upset her that he couldn't bring to himself to trust her enough to speak of whatever was on his mind. But he still didn't say anything. She never had cared what he'd thought before, so it still confused him why she should start now. This whole idea of sudden family still made his head hurt.

He still really had no idea what he was doing there. What he would do there. It still frightened him. The idea that his future was so up in the air… but at least now he had almost any option he chose available to him, unlike how it had been under his last employer. This time, he swore he'd make better choices.

The sun was going down when Pleakly called out dinner to Lilo.

"'Night, Gantu." Lilo gathered up the deck of cards and trotted off to the house.

He nodded in her direction listlessly. Some attempt at a roof had been started on before work had been called to a halt that day. But it didn't look like rain was in the forecast so he wasn't all that worried.

Nani had come out bearing his dinner tray after a time. Gantu followed her with his eyes, taking note of how Lilo was no longer his waitress.

"Got some left over roast and sweet potatoes for you, Gantu." Nani offered him his tray.

"Um, thanks." Gantu still wasn't used to saying that word. He saw she was prepared to leave and realized he didn't want her to. "Nani."

She hesitated in mid step and looked over her shoulder at him. "Yes?"

"You said you'd be willing to listen if I was willing to talk." He said uncertainly.

Surprised, Nani nodded and came back to his side. "Something on your mind?"

Gantu paused, not sure as to how he should begin. "Always." Well, that much was true.

"Well?" She sat beside him, craning her neck so she could look at his face. A face she was still trying to learn how to read.

Now that he had her attention, he really had no clue what to say.

"I'm not going to judge you, if that's what you're worried about." Nani told him, sensing how difficult this was for him.

Gantu exhaled, not entirely secure, but he had to forge ahead. The only other time he'd spilled his guts had been to 6-2-5 once and THAT had been a mistake. But something told him that Nani would not make him regret it. So he did something he very rarely did… he let his defenses down.

----

He'd actually felt better afterwards and had the most restful sleep he'd had since he'd come to live with this family. Was it all due to the trust? He snorted at that. But so far, after the incident, every time he laid his trust out on the table, it hadn't been violated. However, he couldn't help but be fearful that it wouldn't last. Things always went dramatically wrong for him, especially of late.

But part of him was screaming at him that it didn't have to be that way. Nani hadn't judged him when he imparted some of his personal baggage. Hadn't made fun of him like 6-2-5 had. It had been refreshing. She literally seemed to give a blitznack about him. Why did that frighten him so?

Of course, it could all just be in his imagination. Something his love-starved mind had created as a form of dementia. Gantu sat there, head cradled in his arms, trying to figure out what was going on with him. Wondering if he really was crazy.

His back was feeling better as was his mood. Construction continued on his new living quarters. Once, even 6-2-5 came out to oversee the building, if only to annoy Gantu with his constant and ill conceived banter. But Lilo had distracted the yellow experiment and Gantu was relieved to be minus one less headache. Of course, there were many more lined up and just waiting to fill the void.

The house, concentrate on nothing but the house.

Yeah, right!

Jumba had installed the electrical and the plumbing, but Gantu's mind was not where it ought to be. He worked, he even took orders, but that was the limit. But he dared not let anyone know that he had Nani on the brain.

Nani drove up and parked, but before she could get out of the car, Lilo called out to her from the front door, "David on the phone for you, Nani!"

Gantu felt his teeth grind and watched as Nani almost fell over herself to answer the phone. Who was he kidding, after all? He had absolutely nothing to offer. His light mood suddenly darkened and he inexplicably felt like hitting something… anything that was handy. But he took a deep breath and continued on the construction efforts instead.

"Get out the lead, Gantu." Jumba admonished the huge alien when he noticed the sluggish movements.

"I think the saying is step on the lead." Pleakly replied.

"No, I think that is step on the long leaded pedal to the medal." Jumba fingered his chin as he tried to figure out the bizarre Earth sayings.

"Or is it let out the cat's pajamas?" Pleakly too was lost in thought.

'You've got to be kidding me.' Gantu stared at the two very odd aliens who were now apparently his family.

"I'm taking a break." Gantu stood and walked off without speaking further.

Which left the two aliens, one thin, one thick, staring after in silence.

Without thinking about it, he found himself back at the old ship. Well, since he was there already, he might as well pick up a few things. So he started scrounging around the broken up space ship, looking for anything he thought he might not be able to live without. He dug through a lot of trash that had been 6-2-5's addition to the decor. To tell the truth, there wasn't much in that broken up hull that he could bear to live without. There was a cup he did want to keep that said 'World's greatest cop' that he really had no idea how it had gotten there. He had no more spare uniforms left. Perhaps he could talk Pleakly into making him some new clothing, as long as they weren't in those hideous patterns the rubbery alien preferred.

He continued digging through the slog. Not much that seemed to be promising. He definitely would not miss the ship. How many years had he been forced to sleep in those cramped quarters? How many years tucked away in the backcountry of those tiny islands? Too many! He was quite ready to bid that place farewell!

"They said you might be here."

Gantu whirled around, willing his heart to start beating again after that.

"What are you doing here?" Gantu asked after managing to recapture his breath. He hadn't meant it to sound as surly as it had, but she HAD startled him.

"Well, Jumba suggested you'd be here after your hasty exit." Nani told him as she surveyed the strange ship.

"I just had to get away from those two jabber jaws is all." Jumba grumbled.

Nani picked up an odd looking piece of equipment, examined it for a moment, then set it back down, "I know what you mean. There are times when I need a breather from them too."

Gantu sat down in his chair and looked away.

"Thought you had decided to change your mind." Nani said. "About staying."

That got his attention. He turned around and found she was suddenly beside him. "Um, no, I haven't changed my mind. Just was going to collect a few things from my ship for my new place."

Nani nodded. "Need some help?"

He should just send her back home, but instead what he told her was, "Sure."

Gantu couldn't help but be distracted by her presence. He knew it was foolish. After all, he was nothing more then the Big Dummy to them. This was doing nothing for his newest bout of depression. He promptly escaped by going up the lift into the upper level of the ship. But he didn't think he could be blamed for feeling confused. What was she doing there?

Gantu tried to keep his mind on the business at hand. Who knew when he'd get back to the ship? He sifted through everything, amazed that most of the stuff was so unnecessary. He wondered how much of it was his and how much of it was 6-2-5's. Then a disturbing thought came to him. Most likely, he'd have to share his new dwelling with that annoying yellow sandwich maker. He couldn't figure out why he hadn't thought of that until just then. Maybe he could persuade Lilo to let 6-2-5 live in her room with her and her miserable blue trog. If not, he'd have to talk to Jumba about creating a separate space for the yellow trog and a separate bathroom area. He hated clearing out all that fur from the drain (when he could get the smelly thing to bathe), plus he had yet to figure out what that gunk was 6-2-5 always left all over the bathroom sink.

"You know, I have no idea what it is you'd want to take." Came a voice that was becoming familiar to him from behind.

He'd jumped at the sound again and managed to turn after a moment, "Do you have to do that?"

"Do what?"

"Just… appear suddenly behind me like that."

"Why are you so jumpy?" Nani wanted to know.

"I'm not jumpy." Gantu lied.

Nani grinned, "Yes you are. You jumped twice."

Gantu sighed and wished Nani was just a little less observant. Truthfully, she made him nervous as hell and he hadn't really a clue why. By the way, that one truth was one that he had NOT imparted to her last night. He may be a Big Dummy, but he wasn't stupid.

Nani added. "If I didn't know any better. I'd say you were nervous."

'Blitznack!' Gantu swore to himself.

"Nervous about the move?" She asked.

Gantu discreetly sighed in relief. "Yes. I thought I told you so last night."

The island girl nodded, "Yes, you did."

"What are you doing here, Nani?" Gantu decided to get to the meat of the matter. It had been bugging him. She'd never been to his ship before now.

It was Nani's turn to look uncomfortable to which Gantu took full notice. "Jumba had said you'd left in a hurry after I got my phone call."

Gantu just stared down at her from his towering height waiting for more.

"I thought you had changed your mind and left."

The big alien blinked at that. "You were afraid I'd left? Even after the talk last night? I'd thought… SIGH … I don't know what I thought."

The ship was engulfed in uncomfortable silence.

"I'm… sorry." Nani stared out the window past Gantu, hoping Gantu was as lousy at reading human expressions as she was at reading alien ones.

"Um, it's okay, I guess." Gantu felt he was suddenly treading on dangerous ground. On the razor edge, if he wasn't careful, he could screw whatever was happening up so badly there would be no salvaging it. Whatever 'it' was. "You really were afraid I was leaving? Why?"

"Well, you didn't say where you were going or for how long-"

"I meant," Gantu interrupted, "why…" he groaned. He really wasn't good at this. He flopped into another chair and closed his eyes tiredly while messaging his temples.

"I didn't want you to leave me too." Her voice was suddenly right beside him and he started again at the sound of that alien lilt. He drew his hand away from his temple and opened his eyes again. His downward stare showed that Nani had closed the distance and was right beside his chair.

Gantu's jaw dropped open in shock but he managed to close it quickly. He continued to stare, hoping she'd enlighten him just a bit more. The silence lengthened. He truly had no idea what was going on.

"I don't usually do this." Nani sighed. "I mean, I'm not a chaser."

Gantu frowned, still feeling very much in the dark.

"But when you left…" she shrugged helplessly.

"I can not be David." Gantu thought he was finally focusing in on the picture and though it inexplicably hurt to say that, it was true. And it was at that moment when he finally caught a clue his own brain had been trying to toss to him. But it had been so utterly absurd an idea that he'd spent most of his time attempting to ignore it and so failed to even recognize it for what it was. But now she was throwing that unobtainable possibility back in his face and he didn't think he could take the disappointment of losing her because… well…

Nani looked up at him and he stared down at her, his frown fully back in place. "We cannot do…" he gestured helplessly, "… the … things that… well… a male and a female… um… do."

Nani knew exactly what he was trying to get across. She had realized it too once she discovered how she felt about Gantu. Penetration would very well kill her. But whenever she came in contact with him… it sent primal things in her awry. Below, things in her body would tighten. It embarrassed her that she had to concentrate so hard not let it show on the outside. She didn't want him to leave her the way David had left. So she had done something she'd never done before… ran after a guy. Why hadn't she run after David? She honestly didn't know. But Gantu was there, just as lonely, just as available as she was. If they could be creative and figure out a way around the obvious problems, well then … why not?

The End and (To be continued in the sequel… "Gantu's Ohana" since that is going to contain just a bit more, u-u-u-um, decidedly explicit material. Sorry if Nani seems to be slightly out of character here, but I was struggling with trying to figure out a way to get these two together in a viable way.)


End file.
